Hydraulically controlled sloping attachment for graders



Nov. 6, 1962 F. l. BRADEN 3,061,956

HYDRAULICALLY CONTROLLED SLOPING ATTACHMENT FOR GRADERS Filed Aug. 10,1960 5 Sheets- Sheet 1 Frank A Braden 1 N VEN TOR m\ WWW Nov. 6, 1962HYDRAULICALLY CONTROLLED SLOPING ATTACHMENT FOR GRADERS Filed Aug. 10,1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 El &

0 Q I m 3 E 5 Fr #2 A 2 3 [p Frank i, fll aden J INVENIOR.

F. BRADEN 3,061,956

Nov. 6, 1962 F. BRADEN 3,

HYDRAULICALLY CONTROLLED SLOPING ATTACHMENT FOR GRADERS Filed Aug. 10,1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IE W /AL\ b Ea! Fran/r A Braden b INVENTOR. g: BYy I: I I IIII W Nov. 6, 1962 F. l. BRADEN 3,061,956

HYDRAULICALLY CONTROLLED SLOPING ATTACHMENT FOR GRADERS Filed Aug. 10,1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Rank 1 Braden I JNVENTOR.

F. 1. BRADEN 3,061,956

HYDRAULICALLY CONTROLLED SLOPING ATTACHMENT FOR GRADERS Nov. 6, 1962 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 10, 1960 Hank l Braden INVENTOR.

BY Q

Attorney:

and

l atenteol Nov. 6, 1962 Fine 3,861,956 HYDRAULICALLY CONTROLLED SLOPENGATTACHMENT FUR GRADERS Frank Ii. Braden, 1269 Highland St., Red flak,llowa Filed Aug. it 1969, Ser. No. 48,727 7 (Dianna. (Cl. 37-155) Thepresent invention generally relates to attachment for road graders andmore particularly to sloping attachments including novel mechanism forhydraulically controlling the position of the sloping blade andespecially the heel or inner end of the blade. The present inventionrepresents an improvement on that type of structure disclosed in priorPatent No. 2,659,988, issued November 24, 1953.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide ahydraulically controlled sloping attachment for road graders includingnovel means for controlling the position of the heel or inner end of thesloping attachment. The purpose of the sloping attachment is to gradethe slope of a bank, ditch, or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a slopingattachment for graders of the character described including a reardrawbar mounted on the grader and adjustably supporting the inner end orheel of the sloper blade thereby enabling the operator of the grader toalign himself or at least the sloper blade with the shoulder of theroadway. The drawbar includes a slide horizontally movably mountedtogether with hydraulic means controlled from the operators seat of thegrader for moving the inner end of the sloper blade adjustably in alateral direction in relation to the path of movement of the graderthereby enabling the sloper blade to be properly orientated in relationto the side edge of the roadway or with the surface to be sloped.

Still another important object of the present invention is to provide asloper blade attachment for graders in which the sloper blade isvertically controlled by a hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly thatalso is controlled from the operators station on the grader thusenabling complete and full control of the sloper blade by the operator.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a sloperblade attachment having the front or outer end of the sloper bladeadjustably connected to the moldboard or grader blade normally providedon the road grader.

Still another feature of the present invention of utmost importance is aconstruction supporting the heel of the sloper blade from the reardrawbar so that as the drawbar is extended and retracted laterally, theheel or inner end of the sloper blade will be raised and loweredautomatically. Thus, as the hydraulic cylinder arrangement connectedwith the drawbar is extended to put the sloper blade in operatingposition, the heel of the sloper blade is automatically lowered to theproper operating height. As the rear drawbar is retracted, thecantilever action lifts the heel of the sloper blade to the properelevated position for travel over the road.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a sloperattachment for road graders or the like which not only cooperates withthe conventional grader blade but also is hydraulically controlled fororientating the sloper blade in the desired optimum position regardlessof the slope or regardless of the orientation of the ditch, the inclinedbank or the like being sloped.

Still other objects will reside in its simplicity and ruggedness ofconstruction, ease of mounting on existing road graders, ease ofcontrol, efficiency and accuracy in operation and its relativelyinexpensive operating and maintenance costs.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a road grader with the sloping attachment ofthe present invention mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the road grader with the slopingattachment mounted thereon illustrating the sloping blade in positionfor use;

FiG-URE 3 is a rear elevational view of the construction of the roadgrader, the rear drawbar and the orientation of the sloping blade;

FIGURE 4 is a rear perspective view of the sloping blade attachment incollapsed or retracted position for over the road movement of the roadgrader;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed plan view of the rear drawbar illustrating thestructural details thereof;

FIGURE 6 is a transverse, plan sectional view taken substantially upon aplane passing along section line 6-6 of FIGURE 5 illustrating thedetails of construction of the mounting mechanism forming the guidestogether with the slide received in the guides;

FIGURE 7 is a detailed perspective view illustrating the manner ofmounting the rear drawbar onto the grader;

FIGURE 8 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 8-8 of FIGURE 3 illustrating the constructionof the support member for the heel or inner end of the sloping blade;

FIGURE 9 is a rear elevational view of another form of the inventionincorporating an automatic mechanism for raising and lowering the heelof the sloping blade during inward and outward lateral movement of thedrawbar illustrating the sloping blade in operative position;

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of the construction of FIGURE 9; and

FIGURE 11 is a rear elevational view of the construction of FIGURE 9illustrating the orientation of the structure when in retracted or overthe road condition.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generallydesignates a conventional road grader and the numeral 12 generallydesignates the sloping attachment of the present invention.

The road grader 10 may be of any suitable construction and includes theusual grader blade 14 mounted on a turning circle 16 supported by liftarms 16 for controlling the angular position of the blade 14 in both avertical and horizontal plane in a well known manner. The grader 10 isprovided with steerable forward wheels 20, rear driving wheels 22, theusual prime mover 24 and an operators station generally designated bythe numeral 26 which has a plurality of control valve handles 28 mountedthereon for controlling the various movements of the road grader. Theroad grader also includes a frame structure 30 which includes tworearwardly extending frame rails or the like 32 to which the attachment12 is connected.

The attachment 12 includes an elongated sloping blade 34 having anarcuate forward surface 36 and a longitudinal reinforcement L-shapedmember 38 rigid with the rear surface thereof. The blade 36 may beprovided with a removable blade with the remainder thereof being in theform of a moldboard or the entire blade 36 may be of one piece with thereinforcement 38 welded thereto.

Adjacent the outer end of the reinforcement 38, there is provided asocket member 40 mounted thereon receiving the lower ball end of avertical shaft 42 which eX- tends upwardly and is retained in positionadjacent the rear surface of the sloper blade 34 by virtue of aretaining bracket 44 of angle iron construction suitably welded to theblade 34. The upper end of the member 42 is rigid with a tubular sleeve46 slidably and adjustably mounted on an elongated rod or tubular shaft48 having the forward end thereof universally connected to a bracket 50attached to the upper adjacent corner of the grader blade 14 foruniversal adjustment in relation thereto.

The construction of the elongated arm 48 is such that the orientation ofthe arm 48 may be adjusted as to its longitudinal length therebyenabling variation in the relation between the sloping blade 34 and thegrader blade 14. By moving the adjacent end of the grader blade 14forwardly and rearwardly of the road grader, the angular disposition ofthe sloping blade 34 may be varied by virtue of swinging the slopingblade about generally a vertical axis disposed at the rear of the roadgrader. Also, by moving the grader 14 completely forwardly, the slopingblade 34 may be drawn completely inwardly to an over the road orretracted position, this condition being illustrated in FIGURE 4.

At the rear of the road grader and supported by the longitudinal framerails 32 is a pair of brackets 52 rigidly attached to the frame rails 32in any suitable manner. The brackets 32 which are in the form ofvertical plates support substantially a channel shaped member 54 whichfaces rearwardly and is received in recesses 56 in the mounting bracketor plate 52. The channel shaped member 54 may be rigidly affixed to theplate 52 as by welding or the like.

Rigidly affixed to the rearwardly extending flanges 58 of the channelshaped member '54 is a pair of cylindrical guides 60 which are disposedin vertically spaced parallel relation. Each guide 60 is provided with aslot 62 in the inner edge portion thereof. The slots 62 are in verticalalignment and are vertically spaced from each other as are the guides60.

Slidably received in the guides 60 is a slide generally designated bythe numeral 64 which includes a central enlarged tubular or cylindricalmember 66 having two smaller cylindrical members or tubes 68 rigidlyconnected thereto by virtue of a connecting web or rib 70. The tubes 68are slidably received in the guides 60 and the webs 70 extend throughthe slots 62 whereby the guides 60 will guide the slide 64 duringlateral sliding movement of the slide 64. As illustrated in FIGURE 3,the slide 64 is considerably longer than the guides 60 thus enablinglateral inward and outward movement of the slide 64 in relation to theguides 60.

For moving the slide 64 in relation to the guides 60, there is provideda hydraulic cylinder 72 having a piston movable therein together with apiston rod 74 extending through one end of the cylinder 72 and connectedwith a forwardly extending bracket assembly 76 rigid with the enlargedcentral tubular member 66. The bracket assembly 76 includes two plates78 and 80 extending in parallel relation to each other and includingupwardly offset forward end portions 82 which receive the piston rod 74therebetween and which is rigidly secured to the piston rod as by afastener 77. The ends of the plates 78 and 80 are joined together by anysuitable means whereby expansion and retraction of the piston rod 74will cause lateral sliding movement of the slide 64. One of the plates52 is provided with an opening 84 receiving the end of the cylinder 72from which the piston rod 74 projects. The cylinder 72 may be supportedfrom the plate 52 where it passes through the opening 84 and may also befurther rigidly supported wherever desired and by any suitable manner.FIG- URE 7 illustrates the orientation of the plate 52, channel shapedmember 54, guide 60, slide 64 and the pis ton and cylinder arrangementfor extending and retracting the slide 64.

One end of the slide 64 terminates laterally of the road grader and theends of the tubes 66 and 68 are rigidly interconnected by a tubularsleeve 86. The tubular 4 sleeve 86 is vertically disposed and is rigidwith the slide 64 for movement therewith.

Rotatably and adjustably disposed in the sleeve 86 is a verticallyelongated supporting post or rod 88 adjustably secured to the sleeve 86by a bolt type fastener 90 extending through one of a plurality oflongitudinally spaced apertures 92 appearing in the rod or shaft 88 andalso through openings 94 formed in the sleeve 86.

As illustrated in FIGURE 8, the sleeve 86 terminates below the top ofthe rod 88 and a rotatable collar 96 is disposed around the rod 88 abovethe sleeve 86. A retaining collar 98 is disposed above the collar 96 andsecured in position as by welding 100 or the like. The collar 96 isrotatably mounted on the rod 88 for rotational movement and foruniversal pivotal movement to one end of a cylinder 102 of a piston andcylinder assembly having a piston rod 104 extending longitudinallyoutwardly therefrom.

The lower end of the supporting rod or shaft 88 is universally swivellyconnected to a socket 106 mounted on the inner end of the reinforcingmember 38 for universally connecting the inner end or heel of the sloperblade 34- to the lower end of the supporting rod 88. The outer end ofthe piston rod 104 is universally pivotally connected to a bracket 108rigidly aflixed to the sloping blade 34 thus enabling pivotal swingingmovement of the sloping blade 34 in a universal manner in relation tothe pivotal connection between the sloping blade 34 and the supportingrod 88 which is supported by the slide 64 thus enabling lateral slidingmovement of the slide and the vertical supporting post 88 thus enablingvariation in the position of the sloping blade.

The piston and cylinder arrangement including the cylinder 102 is of thedouble acting type and is provided with flexible hoses 110 connected toeach end thereof with the hoses extending to the operators station andoperatively associated with one of the control valv handles 28 so thatthe piston rod 104 may be extended and retracted. Also, the piston andcylindrical assembly including the cylinder 72 is double acting and thehoses engaging the ends of the cylinder 72 also extend to the controlvalve handles 28 for inward and outward movement of the slide 64.

The details of the rear drawbar including the slide 64 and the guidestherefor enable the operator, by adjusting or operatlng a control valvehandle, to adjust the inner end of the sloper blade whereby the operatormay align the inner end of the sloper blade properly in relation to theshoulder of the roadway thus enabling a proper taper to be formed on theslope of the bank of the roadway. The various components of the reardrawbar may be of tubular construction or of solid construction with theentire drawbar being quite rigid in construction and various lubricationfitting may be provided for facilitating the lateral sliding movement ofthe slide in relation to the guides. The orientation of the hydrauliccylinder 72 between the plates 52 enable the compact structuralarrangement requiring very short length of hydraulic hose which will notbe in an area exposed thus protecting such hoses. The vertical controlof the sloper blade 34 is by virtue of the hydraulic cylinder 102 andthe piston rod 104 which is attached to the collar on the supportingpost on the rear drawbar and is also attached to the sloper blade 34 ata point spaced outwardly from the point of attachment between the sloperblade and the drawbar for raising and lowering the sloper blade.

The rear end of the arm 48 is received in the sleeve 46 and is held inposition by a safety shear pin and this arm is manually adjustable. Allattachments to the sloper blade are with ball and socket connectionsthus providing for long wearing and low repair costs of the presentconstruction even after extended use.

Referring now specifically to the form of the invention illustrated inFIGURES 9-11, the structure of the sloping blade 34 is the same andidentical reference numerals are employed for identifying identicalpal-ts to those employed in that form of the invention illustrated inFIG- URES 1-8.

In this form of the invention, the channel shaped member 54 andespecially the top flange 58 thereof is provided with a verticallydisposed plate 112 having a left portion of less height than the rightportion. The highest or right hand portion is designated by the numeral114. The left hand portion of the plate 112 is designated by the numeral116 and the inclined or offset portion of the plate 112 is designated bythe numeral 118. The plate 112 is provided with a longitudinallyextending slot 12% conforming to the curvature of the upper edge of theplate 112 thus forming a cam slot receiving a roller therein with theroller being mounted on a pin or shaft 122. The roller 122 is supportedby the inner end of a pair of cantilever members 124 which extend onopposite sides of an upwardly extending mounting bracket 126 carried bythe outer end of the tubular member 66. The bracket 126 is hingedlyattached to the cantilever members 124 by a hinge pin 123 whereby thecantilever members 124 will be cause to oscillate about the hinge pin128 as the horizontally movable slide 64 is moved laterally in relationto the road grader.

Rigidly mounted on the outer end of the slide 64 is a tubular sleeveguide 139 for vertically slidably receiving a tubular member which maybe considered a rear vertical drawbar and which generally is equivalentto the tubular member 86 in that it is provided with the internal postand is connected with the collar, piston and cylinder assembly 104 andthe like in the same manner. The vertical rear drawbar 132 is pivotallyconnected to the outer end of the cantilever members 124 by pins 132which are received in slots 134 in the ends of the cantilever members124.

The flat steel plate 112 is approximately 36 inches long and is cut sothat the right side 114 is approximately 14 inches high. This plate iscut approximately one third of the distance to the left and then tapersdown diagonally at the offset portion 118 to a point a little over onehalf way and then is straight to the extreme left end designated at 116.The left end portion is approximately 5 inches high and the slot 120 isapproximately 30 inches long and is approximately two inches in width.This allows the cylinder 72 to operate for its full 30 inch strokeduring lateral movement of the slide 64. The plate 112 is preferablywelded to the top of the rear drawbar bracket. The sleeve 130 ispreferably of five and one half inch tubing and extends about fourinches above the top of the horizontal rear drawbar or slide 64 to aconsiderable distance below the horizontal rear drawbar for allowing thefour and one half inch rear drawbar 132 to slide vertically within thesleeve.

The cantilever arm 124 is fabricated from two steel plates held togetherby a bolt in the center as shown and includes a roller mounted on theextreme left end of the cantilever arm which fits in the two inch slotin the plate 112. The roller is preferably made of bronze with a oneinch hole in the center and this roller rotates on the bolt or pin whichholds the two pieces of the cantilever arm together on the left end. Theslot in the right hand end of the cantilever arm is approximately twoinches long for compensating for the arcuate movement of the right handend of the cantilever arm when the arm is raised or lowered.

As the hydraulic cylinder 72 is extended to put the blade 34 inoperating position, the heel or inner end of the sloping blade 34 isautomatically lowered to the proper operating height. As the horizontalrear drawbar is retracted, the cantilever action lifts the heel of thesloper blade 34 to the proper position for travel over the road.

The operation of the present invention will readily be understood from aperusal of the drawings and briefly, the sloper blade 34 will beautomatically orientated at the inner end thereof when the outer end iscontrolled by the operator by maneuvering the existing grader blade 14-and by extending and retracting the hydraulic piston and cylinderarrangement including the cylinder 102. With this construction, thesloping blade 34 may be properly aligned in relation to the desiredslope to be formed on a bank, ditch or the like thus enabling properorientation of the sloping blade 34 so that the slope may be moreaccurately formed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A sloping attachment for road graders comprising a blade having innerand outer ends, drawbar means universally swivelly connected to theinner end of said blade and adapted to be attached to a road grader, anelongated arm univerally pivotally attached to the outer end of saidblade and extending forwardly and adapted for attachment to a graderblade for movement therewith, and extensible means interconnecting thedrawbar means and the blade adjacent the center thereof for raising andlowering the outer end of the blade relative to the inner end of saidblade, said drawbar means including guide means adapted to be rigidlyattached to a road grader and disposed in horizontal position, a slideslidably received in said guide means, means interconnecting the slideand said guide for moving the slide laterally of a road grader therebycontrolling the lateral position of the inner end of the sloping blade.

2. The attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein said slide includes avertical sleeve at one end thereof, a vertical drawbar mounted in thesleeve and having the lower end thereof universally pivotally connectedwith the inner end of the blade for providing universal adjustment ofthe inner end of the sloping blade, said means for raising and loweringthe outer end of the blade being connected to the upper end of thevertical drawbar for elevational change of the entire blade in responseto vertical movement of the vertical drawbar.

3. A road grader having a frame and supporting wheels therefor, a graderblade supported from the frame for adjustable movement intermediate theends of the frame, a rear drawbar assembly mounted on the frame, asloping blade extending laterally of the frame, adjustable meansinterconnecting the outer end of the sloper blade and the adjacent endof the grader blade for enabling limited universal adjustment of theouter end of the sloper blade in relation to the outer end of the graderblade, said drawbar assembly including a vertical sleeve, an upstandingsupport member vertically adjustably and rotatably disposed in thesleeve, means adjustably interconnecting the upper end of the supportmember with the sloper blade adjacent the center thereof, meansadjustably interconnecting the lower end of the support member with thesloping blade adjacent the inner end thereof whereby vertical movementof the supporting member will effect vertical elevational changes of thesloping blade, and means interconnecting the sleeve and the supportmember for raising and lowering the support member thereby changing theelevational position of the sloping blade, said drawbar assembly alsoincluding a guide rigid with the frame, a slide mounted in said guidefor horizontal movement laterally of the frame, said slide beingconnected with said vertical sleeve whereby the sleeve may be movedlaterally in relation to the frame, and means connected with the slidefor moving the slide laterally of the frame.

4. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said sleeve is providedwith an arm, a fulcrum lever mounted on said arm adjacent the centerthereof and having one end attached to the vertical support member, theother end of said fulcrum lever being engaged with stationary cam meansfor changing the elevational position of the vertical support member andthe entire sloping blade in response in inward and outward movement ofthe slide in relation to the guide.

5. A sloping attachment for road graders comprising a blade having innerand outer ends, drawbar means universally swivelly connected to theinner end of said blade and adapted to be attached to a road grader, anelongated arm universally pivotally attached to the outer end of saidblade and extending forwardly and adapted for attachment to a graderblade for movement therewith, and means interconnecting the drawbarmeans and the blade for raising and lowering the outer end of the blade,said drawbar means including guide means adapted to be rigidly attachedto a road grader and disposed in horizontal position, a slide slidablyreceived in said guide means, means interconnecting the slide and saidguide for moving the slide laterally of a road grader therebycontrolling the lateral position of the inner end of the sloping blade,said slide including a vertical sleeve at one end thereof, a verticaldrawbar mounted in the sleeve and having the lower end thereofuniversally pivotally connected with the inner end of the blade forproviding universal adjustment of the inner end of the sloping blade,said means for raising and lowering the outer end of the blade beingconnected to the upper end of the vertical drawbar for elevationalchange of the entire blade in response to vertical movement of thevertical drawbar, said vertical drawbar including a cantilever armconnected thereto, means on said slide supporting the cantilever armintermediate its ends, and cam means engaging the inner end of thecantilever arm for causing pivotal movement of the cantilever arm andvertical movement of the vertical drawbar in response to lateralmovement of the slide thus automatically lowering the inner end of thesloper blade to an operative position when the sloper blade is movedlaterally outwardly of the road grader and automatically elevating theinner end of the sloper blade when retracting the sloper blade to anover-the-road position.

6. A road grader including forward and rear end portions, an earthmoving blade mounted beneath the forward end portion, a slopingattachment comprising a sloping blade having inner and outer ends, anattaching arm mounted on the outer end of the sloping blade andconnected universally to the grader blade, a rear horizontal drawbarmounted on the rear end portion of the road grader, and a vertical reardrawbar mounted on the horizontal rear drawbar, means universallyadjustably connecting the lower end of the vertical rear drawbar to theinner end of the sloper blade, means interconnecting the vertical reardrawbar and the sloper blade in spaced relation to the vertical reardrawbar for swinging the sloper blade in a vertical plane, and meansinterconnecting the horizontal rear drawbar and the road grader formoving the horizontal rear drawbar inwardly and out wardly later-ally inrelation to the road grader, said vertical rear drawbar being verticallyslidably and adjustably mounted on the outer end of the horizontal reardrawbar, said horizontal rear drawbar being provided with a pair ofupper and lower slide rails, and bracket means attached to the rearportion of the road grader with the bracket means including guidesslidably receiving said slide rails, and means interconnecting thevertical rear drawbar and the bracket means for automatically loweringthe sloper blade during outward movement of the horizontal rear drawbarand elevating the sloper blade during inward movement thereof.

7. An attachment for road graders comprising a rear drawbar assembly, asloping blade extending laterally and having inner and outer ends,adjustable means connected to the outer end of the sloping blade andadapted to interconnect said outer end to a road grader, said drawbarassembly including a vertical sleeve, an upstanding support membervertically and adjustably disposed in the sleeve, said drawbar assemblyalso including a guide adapted to be rigidly connected with a roadgrader, a slide mounted in said guide for horizontal movement, suchslide being connected with said vertical sleeve whereby the sleeve maybe moved laterally, and means connected with the slide for moving theslide laterally, means adjustably interconnecting the upper end of thesupport member with the sloper blade adjacent the center thereof, meansadjustably interconnecting the lower end of the support member with thesloping blade adjacent the inner end thereof whereby vertical movementof the supporting member will effect vertical elevational changes of thesloping blade, and means interconnecting the sleeve, the guide and thesupport member for raising and lowering the support member therebychanging the elevational position of the sloping blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,287,526 Van Kessel Dec. 10, 1918 2,491,797 Burns et al. Dec. 20, 19492,615,264 Satterthwaite Oct. 28, 1952 2,847,772 McMullen Aug. 19, 19582,876,564 Briscoe Mar. 10, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 465,967 Germany Sept.27, 1928 823,227 Germany Dec. 3, 1951

